Phoenix is a city in Arizona and is the seat of Maricopa County. It is the anchor of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area (also know as the Valley of the Sun). Based on 2012 statistical data, Phoenix is the sixth-largest city in the United States.[1]

Office of the Mayor

Greg Stanton is the current Mayor of Phoenix. Stanton served on the Phoenix City Council for nine years and as Arizona Deputy Attorney General.[2]

City Council

Phoenix's legislative body is the City Council, made up of 8 members from 8 council districts and the Mayor. The mayor and council members have equal voting power to make laws and set the policies that govern the city. The City Council meets every Wednesday at 3:00 PM.[3]

Budget

The city's budget process operates by Fiscal Years running from July 1 to June 30 of the next year. The budget process begins with a Trial Budget created by the Mayor and presented to the City Council. The Trial Budget is then presented at public hearings and workshops for feedback. A revised budget is then presented to the City Council for a vote. Phoenix's city budget is required to be balanced.[5]

Initiative process

Population as of the July 2011 census update: 1,469,471.[7] Phoenix is a charter city.

The signature requirement percentages for valid petitions, as established by state law, are based on the number of voters in the last mayoral election. For petitions to be valid, they must contain valid signatures equal to 15 percent of the votes cast in the last city mayoral election. Petitions must be filed within two years from the date on which the official number is assigned and signatures obtained more than 6 months prior to the date of filing shall be invalid and certified so by the clerk (Phoenix Charter, Chap. XV). After the City Clerk has certified that the petition for ordinance initiative is valid and sufficient, the Council must either:

Pass the initiative unaltered within 20 days of petition certification. For initiatives seeking to amend the city charter, the council cannot pass the initiative themselves but must submit it to the city voters.

Within 25 days, either call a special election less than 120 days after the Council's decision on the initiative or resolve to place the ordinance on the next regular City election if that election is less than 6 months after the Council's decision on the petition. Petitions to amend the Charter cannot simply be adopted by the Council, but must be submitted to a decision of the electors. (See above for state prescribed initiative process)

Public pensions

2013

With approximately 80 percent support, Phoenix voters overwhelmingly supported two pension reform measures expected to save the city nearly $600 million over the next 25 years. The savings come from increasing both the age of retirement for new city employees and the amount new employees contribute into the pension system.[8]